The students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry knew to clear the corridor when Professor Snape strode down them, face of thunder and robes snapping behind him. Crumpled in one hand was the very magazine that had caused the latest round of Educational Decrees, in the other was a piece of parchment summoning him to the Headmaster's office.
He took the staircase behind the gargoyle two stairs at a time, not pausing to knock before bursting into the office.
"...been friends for a long time. I tried to stop it, on… on Father's orders, but-"
Severus clamped down on his Occlumency shields to not reveal his surprise at finding Draco Malfoy in the Headmaster's office, seemingly giving some sort of report. His eyes slid from the boy, who had gone silent mid-sentence, to the Headmaster.
"I can come back," he said, a sneer curling his lip.
"Draco was just here to provide some insight on the missing person in this article," Dumbledore said lightly, tapping a finger on the magazine in question.
The teen was doing his best not to meet Severus' glare. "Since when does Mr. Malfoy provide insight to you, Headmaster?" he said coolly.
"Since I have found need for alternate sources of information to keep me fully informed," the Headmaster said, a hard look in his eye.
"I would think the priority in this instance would be to keep Potter from blabbing to any nearby reporter!" Severus snapped. "What was the boy thinking-that he needed more enmity with the Ministry?"
"I presume his goal was to warn people by telling the truth," the Headmaster mused. "I only question why he did not tell the whole truth."
All of Hogwarts had seen Evanna run into the maze at the end of the third task, but it had miraculously stayed out of the papers. Severus was still unsure as to whether or not the Dark Lord knew his daughter had played a role in Harry Potter's escape the night of his return, and he did not particularly care to find out. It was why he had panicked on seeing the "Harry Potter Tells All!" headline across the Quibbler's cover and even more worried that-somehow-Evanna Malfoy's name had been left out of the narrative once again.
"Draco here was telling me that Voldemort's heir has a long, odd history with Harry Potter," the Headmaster said.
"You already knew this. Ms. Malfoy and Mr. Potter were acquaintances before her parentage was revealed. She spent many years helping him," Severus said, fighting to maintain his even tone. "Perhaps Potter still feels a certain amount of loyalty toward her."
"Or she could be using her powers," Draco said in a low voice, still not meeting Severus' eyes.
His blood went cold. He had done his best to keep Dumbledore in the dark about Evanna's less well-known powers, though he had learned that the Dark Lord had chosen Bellatrix as the mother of his heir in part because of the legacy unique to her bloodline. But Albus Dumbledore being lead into this mess? It was untenable.
"Evanna-for all that she is the child of very powerful Dark Magic practitioners-is still only fourteen. Hardly able to control someone's thou-"
"She did something to me," Draco insisted. "Last year when I…. When Mother should have gone home. She did something to stop it. If she could do something like that to her own family, why wouldn't she do it to Potter?"
There was something like triumph in the Headmaster's eyes.
"As evidenced by her subsequent stay in the Hospital Wing, I doubt your… cousin has that much control over her powers," he said.
"She spent all that time with the Dark Lord this summer training, and probably winter break too. Who knows what she's capable of now?" Draco demanded.
Severus found himself unable to answer that question.
"I have asked Draco to find out just what kind influence Voldemort's child holds over Harry," Dumbledore said lightly.
"And what is Draco receiving in return?" Severus said scathingly, fixing his glare on the Headmaster.
"The Order of the Phoenix will provide him with protection and make sure he receives his inheritance, should he prove trustworthy to receive it."
"Then why did you call me here today, Albus, when you obviously have everything in hand," Professor Snape sneered.
"You have been teaching the boy Occlumency," he said. Severus cursed in his mind as he saw Draco's head snap towards him, looking almost jealous. "I would imagine you would have insight into any outside influence on Harry's mind."
"The only thing that is addling Potter's mind are teenaged hormones and his own stubborn laziness when it comes to learning anything off the quidditch field," Severus snapped.
"Are you sure, Severus?" the Headmaster pressed.
"Yes," Severus hissed through clenched teeth.
"I still wish for Draco to keep an eye on the situation. Please, report to me as soon as you see something suspicious."
"I want something else," Draco said before the Headmaster was able to dismiss them both. "If I must spy on Evanna to gain protection-I need to be able to do that without her realizing. I want to learn Occlumency as well."
"You could have come to me a long time ago for that," Severus said in a quiet, still voice. He looked Draco in the eye so the boy would fully understand his meaning. I would have protected you with nothing in exchange.
Draco flinched.
"Very well. Severus, you may see to that," the Headmaster said. "Please, report to me Voldemort's reaction to today's article."
"I doubt he will notice the Quibbler," Severus hedged.
"Even so," Dumbledore replied. "You may both continue on with your day. I expect to hear from you both soon."
Before Draco Malfoy could even think of running off, Severus had grabbed the boy by the collar of his shirt and forcefully pulled him into a nearby alcove.
"What were you thinking, making a deal with Albus Dumbledore?"
He said it in the same way one would say "make a deal with the devil". For all that Severus had never sired a child himself, these three he had taken on were enough to give him the grey hairs of a grandfather.
"I never thought you would want me to become a Death Eater before I even come of age, Professor," he said snidely. Severus pursed his lips.
"That does not mean you needed to seek out Dumbledore," he snapped. "He has his own agenda and will do anything for what he has deemed the greater good."
Draco looked down at the floor. "But what if his greater good really is that? I don't see him killing and torturing his loyal servants."
Severus did not quite know what to say. His first master had tortured him too many times to count for various failures over the years and Lucius was far from the first Death Eater to be executed by the Dark Lord. Yet, Dumbledore had hardly allowed him to live his life in peace. The Headmaster might have been more humane on the surface, but he knew how to twist at a person's soul for them to agree to what they would not usually.
"I will see you in my office at three on Sundays for your lessons," he said. "Do not be late and do not allow your sister or Housemates to know where you are going."
"I'm not a complete idiot," Draco muttered.
"No? Hmm."
Severus swept into the hall, robes billowing once again.
Evanna POV
Despite no longer going to the DA meetings, Evanna still kept her galleon close, always checking it for when the meetings were occurring, just to torture herself for no longer attending. The practice was perhaps not the best way for her to handle Harry knowing her secret and hating her for it, but this week it had proved useful.
All of Hogwarts had suddenly found themselves in possession of a copy of the Quibbler as soon as it had been forbidden by Educational Decree #47. Evanna had barely looked up from her novel in the Slytherin Common Room when Theodore had smacked a copy of the magazine onto the table in front of her.
"Might want to take a look at that," he said.
"I'm reading," she grumbled, hungrily devouring the romance between the bastard-born Veela and her Wizard Prince true-love.
"The Veela girl marries the prince in the end and has a dozen half-Veela babies," Theo said dryly, shoving the magazine in her face. "You need to read this."
The protests died in her throat when Evanna read the headline on the magazine cover: HARRY POTTER SPEAKS OUT AT LAST: THE TRUTH ABOUT HE-WHO-MUST-NOT-BE- NAMED AND THE NIGHT I SAW HIM RETURN. Evanna swung her legs off the couch, ripping open the magazine to the headlining article, eyes moving across the page much faster than they had been the Veela romance.
"He didn't say a word about you, but you were there. All of Hogwarts knows it," Theodore said softly.
Evanna barely heard him, lost as she was in the article and her own memories of that night. The green bean of light as it struck Diggity dead, having to hide beside his dead body as her friend was tied to a headstone. The splash Wormtail's hand made, Harry's cry of pain before finally the Dark Lord was resurrected. Harry's screams under the Cruciatus Curse. Her desperation to reach him, to take the Portkey back to Hogwarts with Harry and with Cedric's body.
But her name was not mentioned.
She and her father could keep on pretending she had not actively moved against him, never mind she had not known her identity then. She could still separate the monster of that night from her father who slathered his scones in too much marmalade.
"Evanna, as your betrothed…. Are you two involved?"
Evanna looked up and scowled at him. "You've had your tongue down Parkinson's throat and you're asking me that?"
Theo winced. "I wouldn't care if it was anyone but Potter."
Evanna glared at him. "For your information, I have not spoken with Harry Potter since we returned from break. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got somewhere to be."
There was a DA meeting that night, and Evanna knew that Harry liked to be the last person out of the Room of Requirement, both to make sure everyone got out without being caught and to practice himself. She waited in a shadowy corner of the corridor with the unicorn tapestry, watching as the DA departed in groups of two and three. She pressed closer to the wall as she watched Ginny, Luna, and Bridget leave, laughing uproariously over something. When the flow of students finally stopped, but there was no Harry, Evanna slipped from her hiding place into the Room.
As Evanna had expected, Harry was practicing his dueling drills. Without fully making the decision, Evanna's wand was loose in her hand as she deflected a stray spell back toward him. He noticed her just in time to duck and roll from the spell, sending another toward her in an instinctive move. She smiled, recognizing the move she had taught him.
That was all it took for the two to begin a mock duel as they used to in the Chamber of Secrets, ducking and pivoting and blocking and casting in a sort of dance. Harry had obviously been practicing since she had last come to the DA, but not enough now that there were no other students to force Evanna to hold back. In a few moves, she had Harry disarmed and on the floor, twirling his wand in her fingers as she pointed hers at his chest.
"Dead," she said as he panted on the floor in front of her. She tossed him his wand back and he caught it easily. "You've been practicing, though."
"I didn't quit coming to the DA," he said coolly, standing and moving around her to grab his discarded Gryffindor robe from the floor.
"I didn't think you wanted me here any more," she said, doing her best not to allow any emotion through her voice.
Harry shrugged, slipping his book bag onto his shoulder, making his way to the door.
"You didn't say anything about me being there in the magazine article," she said. "You had the perfect opportunity to prove that the Ministry was doing a cover up, but you didn't say anything."
Harry was still, not saying anything.
"I won't ask you why, because I don't think you will answer me, but thank you," she said.
Harry turned and looked at her. "Your father has been trying to kill me since I was born. And you claim to be loyal to him."
Evanna bit her lip. "Do you know why he is after you?"
Harry snorted. "It took until this year for anyone to even think to train me-why would they tell me why he is after me?"
Evanna had known that Harry had no idea about the prophecy, despite what her father believed. But, after that confrontation in the village, she had to make sure. Now, however, she began to think that had not been the best decision, because now she considered something new. Considered warning him that there was a prophecy, though she did not know the details of it. But wouldn't that be too close to betraying her father? A line would be crossed that she could not come back from.
"It's funny, sometimes I feel like you're the only one who has willingly told me the truth about anything," he said bitterly. "And you're Voldemort's daughter."
"I-you should have told Skeeter about me," she said softly. "You won't win if you don't use every advantage you have."
"Shouldn't you be wanting me to lose?" he said.
"I should," Evanna replied.
Their eyes met and Evanna knew Harry heard what went unspoken: But I don't.
"Then you know why I didn't say anything to Skeeter about you in the graveyard," he said softly. "Good night, Evanna."
He left the room, the door clicking softly behind him. Evanna closed her eyes and slid along the wall to the floor, head in her hands.